Hunting for Sirens
by Venelope Von Schweets
Summary: This story is my take on a new Siren, who crash landed on Pandora and is found by the gruff, yet loveable Hunter, Mordecai. Feed back is greatly appreciated!
1. Chapter 1

Mordecai's POV

After whooping Sal's ass for stealing all my booze and chewing out Axton for helping the leg humper, I decided to go out to the Dust and see if I can capture a few crates of liquor. I walked to Pierce Station, looking over towards Moxxi's bar where Zer0 and Gaige were sitting on the roof, leaning into one another. I smiled to myself, happy to see a cold-blooded assassin and a sweet, some-what innocent girl together in peace. Deep down, I hoped for something like that, but what I thought was happiness was either betrayal or heart break.

I sighed and walked into the station to take the fast travel network to the Dust, where I would steal home-made alcohol and drink till I couldn't see straight anymore. I looked out the window and saw Zer0 kiss Gaige, her cheeks bright pink and his hands shaking from nerves. I gave a small laugh, never really seeing the assassin nervous before.

~x~x~x~x~x~

I swore horrifically as the moonshiner passed me while my back tire was stuck on a skag's head. The driver laughed at me while I whipped out my Dahl pistol and shot at him, hitting the side of his arm three times in the same place.

"I still got it." I muttered, a smirk coming up across my face. The driver got out of his van, wielding a sub-machine gun. I threw my hand up, aiming carefully at his head for a mere second before pulling the trigger and watching his head explode, brains and blood staining the sand. I walked around the back to steal crates and throw them in the back of the Technical without a second thought.

~x~x~x~x~x~

I was about to pass a newly formed bandit town, praying to who ever is out there that no psychos or marauders tried anything on me. I slowed down when I wasn't met with the usual hail of bullets. I looked over and saw a girl, just sitting in the middle of the carnage. Bodies were either burnt, corroded, slagged, or cackling with electricity and the girl just sat there, legs crossed, holding something up to her face.

I walked closer to her, my pistol drawn and cautious, every single nerve on end. The girl raised her head, shaking away the long, eridium purple hair that masked her face. I held my breath as my heart stopped; she had large, brown eyes, a small smile that never seemed to waver, and sun kissed skin with slight freckles dotting her cheek bones. She was holding an egg that looked almost exactly like Bloodwing's egg when she was just a hatchling.

"Are you okay?" I asked, bending my knees to see more of her face. She nodded her head, lips parted slightly as she looked around.

"I'm fine, just tired." She said, her voice sweet yet mischievous. "Where the hell am I?" She asked more to herself than anything else.

"You're on Pandora." I said, noticing blue tattoos on the right side of her body that could only belong to a Siren. She was wearing a white t-shirt with bold black letters that said "F.T.W.W.W" with the neck scooped low and was ripped at the bottom, her denim vest with angel wings sown on the back dirty and covered in blood. She wore black jeans that were torn and frayed, exposing garter belts holding up her black stockings with yellow pinstripes with raggedy black and white high tops.

"Huh, I guess the bitch actually did it." She growled, her beautiful brown eyes growing darker, almost black.

"Uh, am I missing something?" I asked, holstering my pistol.

"Nothing." She said, shaking her head and holding up the egg again. "Do you know what this is? It started shaking and the shell kinda broke." She said, holding it towards me. I held it and it felt warm, reminding me when I found Bloodwing, how innocent she looked until she killed a bandit and proved herself otherwise. The top of the shell broke and a feathered head popped out, squawking up at me, causing me to smile wildly. The girl smiled too, her eyes sparkling in the dying afternoon light which took my breath away. I broke the shell away, holding the soft hatchling in my hands, feeling as if I had Bloodwing back. I looked back up at the girl , her eyes growing hazey and she was a sickly pale. she collapsed in the dirt, her purple hair splayed. I noticed all the gashes and wounds on her that I haven't seen before.

"Shit..." I muttered, placing the bird on my shoulder before carrying the girl bridal style. Even though she was unconscious, she still had that cute small smile stuck to her dusty rose lips. _SNAP OUT OF IT! You just met the girl and you're already falling for her? You seriously have some issues..._ a little voice in my head yelled out.

"I need to stop drinking...so much." I said, walking to my Technical to get the girl out of the Dust and to Zed.


	2. Chapter 2

_Most of you have probably read this but to some that haven't, Mordecai doesn't like Salvador and Axton because they stole his booze and yada yada. It was in my first published Borderlands story, but I deleted for personal reasons.  
_

Mordecai's POV

I ECHO-ed Gaige, Zer0, Maya, and Lilith to get the booze out of the Technical, since I didn't trust Sal and Axton. I carried the girl towards Zed's, my mind racing as I hoped she wasn't too hurt. Gaige ran up to me, her skirt flying up occasionally, causing her to yell out in frustration as she held the hem of it down.

"Mordecai, we got it- whoa, who's this?" she asked once she caught up to me.

"I have no idea..." I muttered, trying desperately to open the door to Zed's.

"Whoa, she's a Siren?" Gaige said as she grabbed the girl's hand and looking it over.

"Yeah, open the door." I said, watching Gaige get out of the way once the door was open. I laid the girl on the table, brushing strands of her purple hair away from her face.

"Mordecai, what're you doin' here?" Zed asked, wiping his blood stained gloves on his filthy smock.

"I found this Siren in the Dust... she passed out and I have no idea why I'm freaking out about this." I said, running a hand over my dreadlocks. Zed nodded his head before shooing me away.

"I'll need the space." Zed said as I walked outside, my head throbbing from stress.

"Mordecai, what's going on? Gaige said something about a new Siren?" Lilith asked, arms crossed and hip cocked. I sighed and started talking.

~x~x~x~x~x~

Zed walked out of the clinic after three hours, all of us waiting some-what patiently.

"Good news Mordecai, that little lady is gonna be okay. She just needs to rest up before she does anything major. Bad news, she can't walk very well; she lost a lot of blood." Zed said, ushering all of us inside. The girl was still unconscious and sickly pale.

"We can let her sleep in the Head Quarters, that way she doesn't wake up in here." Gaige offered, looking at the girl with mild interest and gesturing to the blood-stained walls and floor.

"She did wake up when I sown up her gashes... poor thing shrieked and passed out, screaming something about how she couldn't be back here already or something, I forget..." Zed said as he scratched his head in wonder. I walked over and picked the Siren up, her purple hair falling over my arm, her body limp like a rag doll. She still had the ghost of a smile on her pale lips, which made me wonder why she would still be smiling after landing on Pandora.

We all walked back to the HQ, buzzing with questions of what to do and say when the Siren woke up.

"I think we should ask what her name is, since Mordecai didn't bother to get it." Lilith said, arms still crossed over her chest, but smiling. I rolled my eyes, even though she couldn't really see my eyes.

"This is very exciting! Another Siren on Pandora!" Maya said, her voice high and happy. I smiled at Maya before looking down at the Siren in my arms.

"Before we harass her with questions, let's just get her inside." I said as Lilith opened the door to the HQ.

~x~x~x~x~x~

Joanne's POV

"Be quiet, she's waking up!" A girl's voice rang out; probably 18, 19 years old.

"Gaige, practice what you preach." A rough, deep voice whispered, causing me to snap my eyes open and look around.

"W-where am I now?" I groaned, pain searing through every inch of my body. I looked at my left arm and saw that I was stitched together like some doll. "What happened to me?!" I gasped, trying to sit up but end up screaming in pain.

"Calm down, it's alright." The low, soothing voice said. I looked up and saw it was the man that I met out in the Dust. He looked at me and gave a small smile. "Mornin' sunshine."

"Hey..." I said, my vision blurring around the edges slightly as I studied the hard, gruff face in front of me.

"You're in the Crimson Lance HQ." A blue haired Siren said, a wide and eager smile settling beautifully on her blue lips. "What's your name?"

"I'm Joanne." I said, feeling scared yet slightly excited.

"Nice, I'm Mordecai. The red-head over there is Lilith, that's Maya, and this is Gaige." Mordecai said after pointing out everyone to me. I looked up at all of them and smiled, happy to know that I haven't died and I wasn't back on Hades.

"Where're you from?" Lilith asked from the corner of the room.

"Hades; living proof that there is a hell." I said, trying to sit up but instead got a wave of pain crashing down on me. Mordecai handed me a bottle with a label that read out "Hodunk's Home-Made Rakk Ale."

"Where's that at?" Gaige asked, a confused look masking her adorable face.

"Center galaxy of the six." I said, opening the top of the bottle.

"I've heard of it; isn't it ran by a handful of corporations trying to take it over?" Maya asked.

"SWEET MOTHER OF GOD, WHERE HAS THIS BEEN MY WHOLE LIFE?!" I demanded the now empty bottle of Rakk Ale. Mordecai laughed slightly, watching as I tried to get the last few drops out. "Sorry; yeah, but that's not the whole situation. All the people who are against the corporations live in groups, who fight other groups. Then we fight against the corporations, obviously. Lastly, the corporations fight with each other to feel like they rule Hades." I said, sitting up properly for the first time in a while. "I've been tailed by groups and corporations for being a Siren; they all want me to fight for them and get them to power."

"Well, what happened?" Maya asked as she leaned forward in interest.

"Well, Hades is networked into every planet in the six galaxies so we have vast knowledge of everything that goes on. When the second vault was opened, it triggered other vaults to open on different planets. Hades had Eridium in that vault, which the corporations tried to harvest for their own use. They heard of slag experimentation and decided to kidnap me and force me through it. They found out there is a correlation with Sirens and Eridium and tested that theory on me, but with slag first. They just pumped gallon after gallon of slag in me, then forced me to use Eridium, which permanently leveled up my Siren powers. I escaped only to be sold out by someone in my group, someone I trusted." I finished, playing with the lip of the now empty bottle.

"What's the theory?" Lilith asked in wonder.

"The theory is that with enough Eridium is consumed by a Siren, they give them powers beyond belief. I discovered that I can use slag, corrosion, fire, and shock instead of my normal powers." I said, watching Lilith smile wickedly.

"How much Eridium?" She demanded.

"I have no idea. I told you, I was injected with a crap ton of slag then forced to use a block of Eridium." I said, watching Lilith's eager smile turn down in a thoughtful frown. I felt my head swim and I slumped down in the bed.

"Why don't you get some rest?" Mordecai offered, taking the bottle and standing up.

"Thanks Mordecai." I said before falling asleep instantly. _Mordecai is **really**_ cute! "Shut the hell up..." I growled, thankful no one heard.

~x~x~x~x~x~

_AUTHOR'S NOTE!__ **Okay, this is not my best chapter, but I'm SERIOUSLY having some writers block... and statistics show the human brain is more active at night... unfortunately for me, my brain is active after I go to bed... I would like if people suggested something about this story, maybe to clear up some confusion or simply to add some non conventional humor. **_


	3. Chapter 3

Mordecai's POV

"You okay Mordy? Look kinda distant." Gaige said, her face contorted into concern.

"Huh, yeah I'm fine. Just thinking about Joanne, like how she ended up here." I said, rubbing my forehead in wonder.

"Well, Maya did steal some equipment from Hyperion that gives us more information than we had before; maybe there's something there." Lilith offered, already typing away on one of the monitors.

"I'm curious too, especially how she knows a lot about Sirens. Maybe she can answer me and Lilith's questions, to some extent of course." Maya said from her chair. I nodded my head in acknowledgement. A few minutes of silence passed by before Lilith brought something up on the main console in the middle of the room.

"Joanne IS from Hades and it really is hell, just like she said. The only reason why she knows so much about Sirens is because Hades has a vast network of computers and ECHO's that takes information from all the planets in the six galaxies. That's why she knew about the Vault openings and such. It also states that Joanne is a convicted criminal with 19 counts of murder on corporation officials and 523 counts of assault towards corporation personal." Lilith read out, all of us enthused by her past. "Wait there's a huge article on her." Lilith said before reading off the holographic screen.

_"Joanne, age 29, has been subjected to Slag Experimentation, being the first subject to test on. Her looks and fighting style have changed dramatically as the list follows; original hair color: Light Green. Original eye color: Acid Green. Original Phasing Ability: Original Height: 5'7". Original Skin Tone: Fair. Phase Stab (Name not official). Slag Experimentation shows a link to Sirens, enhancing their already gifted talents and durability. Test subject broke free from holding cell and reuniting with her group of Desert Children (People who do not agree with all corporation's decisions and statements.) _

_"Joanne's notorious not only for being a Siren, but a Thunder Dome star (An underground ring where Desert Children go to see people fight to the death for enjoyment.) winning all rounds she has participated in. She is known for being armed and dangerous and not to be approached under any circumstances." _Lilith finished off, stepping back with a smirk.

"I have nothing to say..." She said with amusement.

"Well, at least we can trust her a little more." Gaige said helpfully. I turned my head to look at the sleeping figure that was Joanne; her chest rising and falling as she slept, her arms wrapped lazily around her self, her legs entwined gently, her purple hair framing her already beautiful face. **_Mordecai, you need to snap out of it, you cannot fall for_**_** her**__._ A voice in my head jeered.

"_I an not falling for anyone."_ I thought back, praying that I wasn't really falling for Joanne. I haven't even held a proper one on one conversation with her AND she's only been her for a few hours. How could I possibly like her?

_**You're acting hysterical. Knock it off or so help **__**me...**_The little voice threatened. How could a voice threaten me? What the hell is in that Rakk Ale?!

"Mordecai! Over here!" Lilith called out, waving her arms in front of my face. "Do you have any idea what we were talking about?" She asked.

"Huh? No..." I said, raising a bottle to my lips. Lilith pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head.

"Oh well, let's just try to get some sleep; it's close to midnight." Maya said as she ushered everyone out of the room. Gaige waved good-bye and walked out of the building, closely followed by Maya and Lilith.

"Aren't you coming?" Lilith asked me.

"I think I'm gonna stay here, make sure Joanne is alright." I said, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Alright, but you should really get some rest." Lilith said before disappearing downstairs. I sat on the bed opposite of Joanne, watching as she slept on, the same small smile on her lips.

~x~x~x~x~x~

Joanne's POV

I could hear voices near me, but I didn't want to open my eyes. I felt like I was still in my holding cell, my ankle chained to the wall, my wrists linked together, covered in needles or dirt from the dingy cell floor. I didn't want to be on Hades, I wanted to be safe, even if that meant I was dead. Then I heard my name being said, by Mordecai.

"I'm just saying that Joanne's still pretty beaten. How would you feel if I started asking you questions while you were hurting?" He demanded to someone.

"Alright, but still; she could answer a lot of questions!" Maya argued. Mordecai sighed and I could imagine him shaking his head. I cracked my eyes open and looked over to see Mordecai and Maya talking, Gaige hovering around them but looking bored.

"Hey sleeping beauty!" Gaige said as she walked over to me. I sat up, wincing slightly at the pain that shot through my body. At least I could sit up without the feeling of a thousand white-hot blades piercing my skin every time I moved.

"Hi." I said, looking up at the bright and happy red-head. "What's going on?" I asked, looking over to Maya and Mordecai. Mordecai instantly moved to kneel in front of me, looking over the stitches.

"I wanted to ask some questions about Sirens and all, but Mordy told me not to." Maya said as she sat on the opposite bunk, arms crossed over her chest, her legs crossed. "I'm gonna ignore his words though." Maya said with a smirk. Mordecai stopped inspecting me wounds, his hands hovering over my left arm slightly.

"You little shit." He muttered under his breath before taking my arm gently, looking over all the scrapes and cuts.

"Ask away." I said with enthusiasm. Finally I can share my knowledge of my kind without confusing everyone.

"Well, I was wondering how Sirens came to be." Maya said, her thoughtful eyes laying on me.

"Sirens are all females and only six can exists at any given time. Legends have said that Sirens come from one being that can only create a Siren after one has died and that they were formed to keep the Universe in check and make sure that nothing seriously bad will happen, but then again they're legends." I said, giving Maya a small smile.

"Wow... never heard of that before. Another question; Why do we look the way we do?" Maya asked, gesturing to herself and me.

"Another legend says that when we were created, we were supposed to be really beautiful and we have to stay that way. I have no idea if that makes sense, my mother, who was also a Siren, told me this to explain that Sirens can never bear children." I said, my eyes trained against the wall with my brows furrowed. Maya just gaped at me in disbelief. She then looked like a child who's balloon was popped by a stranger passing on the street.

"Wait, your mother was a Siren... that doesn't make any sense." Mordecai muttered, still looking me over. His fingers pressed gently on a very sensitive bruise that had blossomed over night on my shoulder.

"She acted as my mother. I had an older brother and a younger sister, both from my dad and a previous relationship." I said, flinching from Mordecai's touch. He looked up at me and nodded his head, moving back to sit next to Maya.

"I'm gonna go tell Lilith." Maya said after running down the stairs. I looked up at Mordecai and smiled, in which he returned the gesture.

~x~x~x~x~x~

Mordecai's POV

It's been months since Joanne had arrived on Pandora and she's been on good terms with all the other Vault Hunters. She spent most of her time with Krieg, after finding out he was an escaped experiment patient from Hyperion. She mostly looked at him as a brother, both sharing the pain they went through and how much they lost and gained. They only talked alone together on the balcony, and having a curious mind, I started to listen to them.

One day, Maya came walking into the room, looking happy and care-free, as usual, when she stopped and looked at me with a questioning face.

"Hey Mordy, what're you doing?" She asked before I held a finger up to my lips.

"Joanne and Krieg are talking." I whispered, motioning her over. Once she was over, we both sat down, our backs against the wall, listening intently to Joanne and Krieg.

"When I was 15, a corporation known as Superior kidnapped me and held me hostage till I was 18, when I escaped. They tried to hypnotize me into joining their ranks, but their attempts were useless. I hid from everyone, except my family, and survived until Hyperion got to me when I was 28. My best friend, Kitty, sold me out after I told her that we could never work out as a couple. I swear, most girls are crazy." Joanne said, getting a surprisingly human laugh from Krieg, not some maniacal laugh that meant he wanted to wear your first-born's skin as a fancy hat. "They did slag experimentation on me and were happy with the results, until I proved I was much stronger. They shipped me here and it's weird to say this, but I've been a lot happier." Joanne finished, sighing lightly.

"I can relate, some-what. I've been kidnapped and used as a test subject for most of my life. I escaped, obviously, but since then, I cannot remember anything that resembles what I was like before I went mad." Krieg had said, which made me stop and think.

"He can talk?" Maya whispered to me. I shrugged and we both continued to listen.

"Well, at least you have some control over your lesser sane side." Joanne said comforting. Maya and I both heard them get up, causing us to panic and run to the other side of the room, acting as if we've been talking to each other the whole time. Joanne looked at both of us before smiling and giving a slight wave.

"Oh, hey Joanne, what's up?" Maya asked casually, as if we weren't listening to Joanne spill her past.

"Nothing much, just hanging out with Craig." Joanne said, oblivious to the fact she got Krieg's name wrong. Krieg shuffled past us, only stopping to stare at Maya before shaking his head and walking away, the same gentle and more human voice mutter under his breath.

"His name's Krieg." I mentioned, watching him disappear downstairs.

"Well, since you two were listening, I should tell you his name before going insane is Craig. Krieg is the psychotic one." Joanne said as she leaned against the edge of the middle console. I've noticed when she's used Eridium bricks when she was bandit hunting with Gaige and I, some of her facial features have changed. Her lips were tinted purple, her eyes now have a glowing violet hue, and she has more of an hour-glass figure than before. Although she changed physically, she was still stunning and beautiful. I've attempted to ask her out, but the doubtful and still drunk side of my mind stopped me from pursuing.

"How'd you know we were listening?" Maya asked, her hands placed on her hips casually.

"You came in and asked what Mordy was doing and he told you that he was listening and I heard you walk over to him." Joanne said simply, giving a kiss-my-ass smile, which Maya laughed at. Since Joanne's time here, she's been really close to Lilith, Maya, and Gaige.

"Oh well. It's great that he can actually talk now." Maya said with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Yeah, the only thing is he can only talk at night because that's the only time Krieg goes night-night." Joanne said as she crossed her arms over her chest, crinkling the letters on her shirt. "He's been wanting to talk to you, actually. He doesn't know how to approach you without scaring you." Maya's eyes widened, pupils growing bigger, her breath hitching in her throat.

"Really?" Maya asked. Joanne nodded her head, watching as Maya straightened up, ready to go after Krieg. "I'm gonna go talk to him." Maya stated before walking out of the room, leaving only me and Joanne. She smiled at me, causing me to lose myself in her eyes. _You can't have her; you'll screw everything up like you did with all the other girls._

"MORDY!" Gaige screamed, running up the stairs. "Are you gonna be at Moxxi's tomorrow?" Gaige asked, winded and anxious.

"Yeah... why wouldn't I?" I asked, turning my attention to the winded girl.

"What's tomorrow?" Joanne asked, clearly confused.

"The one year anniversary of us kicking Handsome Jack's ass!" Gaige exclaimed, her excitement spilling out in bursts. "You should go with Mordy!" Gaige offered, taking Joanne's hand and pulling her towards me. "Come on Mordecai, ask her! Everyone knows how much you like her!"

"Uh, do you want to go to Moxxi's with me tomorrow?" I asked, focusing only on how close we were.

"Yeah." Joanne said with a wide smile. I could practically see the negative little voice frowning and deciding he should give up, only leaving with parting advice. _You fell for her, don't expect to get up so quickly. _


	4. Chapter 4

Mordecai's POV

Joanne and I were sitting at Moxxi's bar, watching everyone gradually get drunker by the minute. Zer0 and Gaige were slow dancing in the corner, Zer0's mask was completely gone and there were numerous lip gloss kiss marks all over his face from Gaige. Axton and Lilith were dancing too, tears streaking Lilith's face as grief for Roland washed over her; Axton just held her, a sympathetic look on his face as they slowly stepped in circles. Sal was busy with Moxxi, muttering sweet nothings in her ear, Moxxi giggling like a little girl; it made me sick, since she was right behind me when it was going on. Finally, Maya and Krieg were gently dancing, Maya's hand on his shoulder, his on her waist, their other hands linked together and held high. Everyone else was walking up to us, thanking us for getting rid of Handsome Jack and Hyperion, Joanne looking at me with a slight admiration.

The night droned on, Joanne and I drink very little, trying hard to talk, only to be interrupted by Moxxi's annoying snorts of laughter.

"I've had enough of this shit." Joanne said as she placed her glass of bourbon on the counter. "Mordecai, wanna dance?" She asked, grabbing my hand. I nodded my head, standing up and leading her to the middle of the dance floor. Moxxi's bar had grew over the past few months, thanks to a giant cash stash that used to belong to Jack and her arguing over it since she should deserve it after how "cruel" Jack had treated her.

We started dancing, only an arms distance apart from each other. I decided to be brave and step closer, securing my arms closer around her waist, the nasty voice only muttering about how it was a bad idea. She smiled warmly, her eyes sparkling in the dim bar lights.

"Ya know, I think we haven't had an actual conversation since you've been here." I said, watching as her eyes widened in surprise.

"I've never noticed." She said, her smile growing bigger. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Maybe, something about you?" I offered, watching her face contort in thought.

"I'm really good at sniping..." She said, frowning in concentration. "I've been known to talk to myself when I'm alone." She added after a moment. I gave a small laugh, watching as her cheeks turned pink.

"Really? I should see you with a sniper rifle some time." I said, flashing her a smile.

"I dunno, your rifles are kind big." She winked. I raised an eyebrow, watching as a blush creep up from her neck up to her face. "That was awful." She muttered, lowering her head so she couldn't look at me.

"Nah, that was good." I said, pulling her closer. "But I think you could do better." I muttered, bringing her chin up to have her eyes face me. She relaxed, her eye lids drooping slightly as she looked up at me. I smiled and bent over her, hovering above her lips for a second before finally closing the gap. Her lips were soft and quivering slightly. I opened my eyes slightly to see her reaction and she was glowing. Literally glowing; her Siren markings were bright, casting both of us in a light blue. I didn't pull away, I actually felt happy, not miserable or feeling that I have nothing left to lose.

I pulled away slightly, only to have Joanne pull on my shoulders, bringing me back. I smiled, more than willing to kiss her again. When Joanne finally let me loose, she blushed uncontrollably, hiding behind her purple hair.

"Why are you hiding?" I asked playfully, grabbing her hand and entwining our fingers together.

"I'm not hiding." She said as she pushed me playfully. I laughed, still holding her hand, watching as she tried to disappear behind her hair.

"We can hide together." I offered. She smiled like a little girl, eyes bright and full of excitement.

~x~x~x~x~x~

We hid out on a random roof top, just talking and leaning into each other. It felt nice, like nothing could go wrong but unfortunately it did. The voice in my head spoke up again, spitting out venom and growling at me to leave Joanne.

_Joanne is no good! She's gonna ruin you just like every other girl you've been with. Leave her now and save yourself. _

"So, Mordy, what do you want to do?" Joanne's voice called through past my insanity.

"Uh, what do you mean?" I asked.

"You kinda went silent, so I figured we had nothing more to talk about..." Her voice trailed off and her eyes glazed over. She just sat there, deep in thought for some odd reason. I nudged her and she slowly looked at me. "Have you ever considered the possibility of meeting someone like ourselves? Like I would never have guessed I would meet someone as amazing and cool as you." Joanne said, her voice hazy and distant. I couldn't say anything; the thought of telling Joanne what I thought of her was nerve-wracking.

"I, uh... have been doubting that but I don't want to." I mumbled, trying hard not to piss her off. I was waiting for her to wail on me but instead she put a hand on my shoulder.

"Why would you?" She asked, eyes full of concern. I sighed, feeling pathetic and stupid.

_You should, you stupid moron. Just get up and leave dammit! _

"I just thought you'd be like every other girl I've been with. I've always been walked on and treated like dirt." I said as I laid on my back. Joanne looked back at me and smiled.

"I'm not like that. I think you're amazing in almost every way." She said, laying on her stomach, arms folded, her head resting on her arms.

"What do you mean almost?" I asked, completely terrified that I might've done something that could've- **_I gotta stop thinking like_ that...** Joanne raised an eyebrow at me and giggled.

"You're cute when you get all worked up." Joanne teased.

"I'm not cute." I said, watching her smile radiate. I relaxed a little and smiled back. Joanne hummed, closing her eyes as she just laid there. "You tired?"

"Just a little, but I'll be fine." She said, her voice low and quiet.

_Leave now that you have a chance!_

"You know, you don't have to sleep at the HQ if you don't want to." I said, watching her eyes flutter open.

"What do you mean?" She mumbled, her voice dreamy.

"You could stay at my place, until you get an apartment." I offered. She laid in silence before nodding her head.

~x~x~x~x~x~

I walked Joanne into my apartment, leaving her in my room to get comfortable. I check on Blood Wing, letting her gently nip at my finger tips and cooing to me. I walked to my room to say goodnight to Joanne when I was stopped in my tracks. Joanne was only wearing her black shorts and white t-shirt. The rest of her clothes were neatly folded beside the bed. I wasn't stunned by what she was wearing, but how she looked. The lavender hue to her eyes had a dreamy glow, her long black lashes gently brushing her cheeks with every blink. Then my eyes traveled to her Siren markings; they entwined themselves around her, causing them to look like blue vines, cascading around the right side of her body.

"I don't really want to go to bed." She said with a girlish smile.

"Then what're you gonna do?" I asked, leaning against the frame of the door.

"I just wanted to hang out... with you." She said, hiding her face behind her purple hair. I smiled and shrugged.

"And how old are you?" I asked, watching her blush.

"Mentally, I'm a kid mixed with a teenager. I'm not technically an adult." She said with a smile. I climbed into bed with her after shedding all the armor and such, watching her giggle as we both settled in. We talked till the sun came up and I've never felt more at ease with myself. We were laying close together, my hand tracing the markings on her leg, watching her mouth move as she talked. She fell asleep with the side of her face pressed against my chest, my hand still toying over the markings.

I kept thinking that this was it; this is how I wanted to spend the rest of my life. I wanted to be next to someone who cared about me as much as I cared about her, getting to actually know each other, all the romantic cliche's. But this is Pandora and a love like this could never happen. Instead, we settled for something a little more appropriate to the environment; sniping enemies together, running anything and everything over with runners, and enjoying everyone's misfortune, even our own. But then again Pandora never really gave what it's people really wanted.

~x~x~x~x~x~

**The End.**

_Okay, not the best of chapters, but I think it works. Anyway, there is that cliffhanger that's now hovering over people's heads. The only question is how do I go about it? Bahahahahhahaha, I don't know! I want to see where you think it's settles. :) Feedback and critique is appreciated! _


End file.
